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December 21, 2005
Go, Johnny, Go
I know you’re dying to know what I think of the Johnny Damon deal. It was the talk of my office all day long. If you’re reading this anywhere between Presque Isle and mid-Jersey, I’ll bet it was the talk of your shop, too.
A fellow who wrote a short piece for the Monitor's editorial page tomorrow spoke for many when he bitterly blamed Damon for leaving the loving embrace of Red Sox Nation for Gotham greed. The other thing I kept hearing was the lament that now two up-the-middle stars were gone, a reference to the hole left earlier by the departure of Edgar Renteria, Boston's shortstop.
As a Yankee fan, my first reaction to the deal – other than to put cotton in my ears – was to think of the position Damon has been hired to fill. Center field at Yankee Stadium is sacred ground. DiMaggio played there, and Mantle. Bernie Williams was a quieter presence, but with his good first step and his galloping gait, he upheld the tradition.
On balance, I think Damon will, too. He’s not in the mold of DiMaggio, Mantle and Williams. He’s a stopgap. If he stays healthy, he’ll roam that vast green pasture for three or four years while Yankee fans await the next young star who was born to the job.
On offense, what’s not to like about Damon? The Yankees haven’t had a classic leadoff hitter in years, although Derek Jeter is certainly no slouch. Like Jeter, Damon gets on base a lot, hectors pitchers when he does, can hit for power and hits in the clutch. I purposely avoided reading today about what the Yankee lineup might look like in ’06, preferring just to dream about it. I mean, Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Matsui, Giambi, Posada, Bernie (or another DH), Cano. The Yankees should score some runs.
The Yankee pitching staff remains a work in progress, and team chemistry is the essential question mark, but the Red Sox have even farther to go. Less than two months before the pitchers and catchers report, I think we've got the lead.
As for all that talk about the button-down pinstripe culture, Sox fans shouldn’t forget that baseball is a business. I mean, it was a businessman, Theo Epstein, whose cold, brilliant business decisions in the middle of the 2004 season broke the Curse of the Bambino. If the Sox don’t get down to business soon, the memory of that magical year will fade faster than you can say Johnny Damon.
Posted by Mike Pride at December 21, 2005 09:43 PM
Comments
Off-topic here, but Douglas Schwartz, in today's Monitor editorial, "Decorated Tree by any name a sign of peace," misstates a couple of facts.
He says: "Bowing to the will of conservative groups, Boston's Mayor Menino renamed the city's official "holiday tree" a Christmas tree. U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert did the same with the Capitol Holiday Tree."
The fact is, both trees were always known as "Christmas Trees" before left-wing, secular pressure groups forced the change to "Holiday tree" this year.
The debate about the "War on Christmas" isn't helped when there are willful mistruths being propagated.
I know it comforts your readers to read about "right-wing zealots" out there, but in fact, the secularists are the zealots in this case.
Posted by: Steve at December 22, 2005 09:35 AM